20200820 PROTECTING THE NAME OF GOD
20 August, 2020, Thursday, 20th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: White.
These are the readings for the feria
First reading |
Ezekiel 36:23-28 © |
I will remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh
The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows: ‘I mean to display the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them. And the nations will learn that I am the Lord – it is the Lord who speaks – when I display my holiness for your sake before their eyes. Then I am going to take you from among the nations and gather you together from all the foreign countries, and bring you home to your own land. I shall pour clean water over you and you will be cleansed; I shall cleanse you of all your defilement and all your idols. I shall give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you; I shall remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh instead. I shall put my spirit in you, and make you keep my laws and sincerely respect my observances. You will live in the land which I gave your ancestors. You shall be my people and I will be your God.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 50(51):12-15,18-19 © |
I shall pour clean water over you and all your sins will be washed away.
A pure heart create for me, O God,
put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
nor deprive me of your holy spirit.
I shall pour clean water over you and all your sins will be washed away.
Give me again the joy of your help;
with a spirit of fervour sustain me,
that I may teach transgressors your ways
and sinners may return to you.
I shall pour clean water over you and all your sins will be washed away.
For in sacrifice you take no delight,
burnt offering from me you would refuse,
my sacrifice, a contrite spirit.
A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.
I shall pour clean water over you and all your sins will be washed away.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps118:27 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Make me grasp the way of your precepts,
and I will muse on your wonders.
Alleluia!
Or: | Ps94:8 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Harden not your hearts today,
but listen to the voice of the Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 22:1-14 © |
Invite everyone you can to the wedding
Jesus began to speak to the chief priests and elders of the people in parables: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a feast for his son’s wedding. He sent his servants to call those who had been invited, but they would not come. Next he sent some more servants. “Tell those who have been invited” he said “that I have my banquet all prepared, my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, everything is ready. Come to the wedding.” But they were not interested: one went off to his farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his servants, maltreated them and killed them. The king was furious. He despatched his troops, destroyed those murderers and burnt their town. Then he said to his servants, “The wedding is ready; but as those who were invited proved to be unworthy, go to the crossroads in the town and invite everyone you can find to the wedding.” So these servants went out on to the roads and collected together everyone they could find, bad and good alike; and the wedding hall was filled with guests. When the king came in to look at the guests he noticed one man who was not wearing a wedding garment, and said to him, “How did you get in here, my friend, without a wedding garment?” And the man was silent. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen.’
PROTECTING THE NAME OF GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Ezekiel 36:23-28; Matthew 22:1-14 ]
It is significant that the reason given for God to restore Israel back to her homeland was to display the holiness of His great name. His honour “has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them. And the nations will learn that I am the Lord when I display my holiness for your sake before their eyes.” In the Bible and even among us, one’s name is very important. To protect one’s name is to protect one’s honour. To protect the family name is to protect the honour of the whole clan. Therefore, when someone dishonors our name, or our family name, nation or the name of our God, it is considered a great insult. Hence, because of the humiliating defeat of Israel and the destruction of Jerusalem, the Temple and the palace, it gave the impression that the God of Israel is not so powerful after all, compared to the god of Babylon. Indeed, when they were exiled, the question asked was, how could God allow Israel to be conquered by her enemies when God was always regarded as the “Lord of Hosts”?
Indeed, the existence of Israel and the name of God were closely related. God was the King of Israel. A defeated nation would imply a defeated God. So, too, in our daily life, when our children do well, they bring honour to the family, especially the parents. When the children commit mistakes or fail in life, they bring disgrace to the family. This is one of the reasons why parents are very proud of themselves when their children do well because they reflect their honour. Is not this what we say too when we pray the Lord’s Prayer, “May your name be held holy!” That is, may our lives reflect God as truly our Father and we, His children. To honour God’s name, we must act and conduct ourselves in such a way that people will recognize us as God’s children. This was what the Lord taught us in the Sermon on the Mount. “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.” (Mt 5:44f)
The importance of keeping the name of God holy is also highlighted in today’s gospel. We are told that the King sent out an invitation to invite his people to come for his son’s wedding. This invitation was already extended to them earlier on. And the guests had already promised to come. When the wedding was ready, they gave excuses for not coming to the banquet. “They were not interested: one went off to his farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his servants, maltreated them and killed them.” It was bad enough to decline the invitation especially when a commitment had already been made. But it was totally unthinkable for them to kill his messengers. They showed no respect for the King and his messengers.
Of course, the consequences were grave for rejecting a king’s invitation. In other words, they were not giving face to the king. It was tantamount to saying that the king was not important to them. This was a lack of respect and an affront to the dignity of the king. This explains why State invitations are properly thought through with regard to who is invited, where they are seated, and what attire is expected, so that the right honour is shown to the person. Otherwise, the host would be slighted at the poor attendance at his banquet. Normally when someone important invites us, unless one has good reasons, declining the invitation would have serious implications for future relationships. Giving lame excuses is even worse. When we are invited, it means that our presence is necessary because it gives solemnity and importance to the function and the host. What more if it is God who is inviting us to His feast, His banquet, the Eucharistic table every Sunday, and our answer is that we are too busy to come!
Indeed, the Lord warned the Jews because they were the first to be invited to the Kingdom. But since they rejected the invite, the King “dispatched his troops, destroyed those murderers and burnt their town.” These words written by Matthew referred to the historical event when the Roman army destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70. So, too, the Jews would incur a penalty for rejecting the invitation of the Messiah to the Kingdom. We too have been invited to the messianic banquet. In rejecting the invitation, we offend God. But it seems we have no qualms in rejecting God’s invitation although we would think twice if the President, or the Prime Minister, or our boss invites us to dinner. We would not want to slight them or sour our relationship with them. But unfortunately, this is not so with respect to our relationship with God. He is always calling us to be with Him but we have no time.
This is why the Lord reminds us that the kingdom is only accessible to those who are humble and poor. The king told his servants. “The wedding is ready; but as those who were invited proved to be unworthy, go to the crossroads in the town and invite everyone you can find to the wedding.” Indeed, all are invited to the Messianic banquet. But often the rich, the powerful, the arrogant and the intellectuals think that they do not need God. That is why God chooses the lowly, the humble, the poor and the weak to come to His kingdom. Welcoming the good and bad shows God’s graciousness and reflects Jesus’ mission to all sinners. Like them, we too are welcome into God’s kingdom, unworthy as we are. Hence, entry into the kingdom of God is really by grace alone, not by merit. No one is worthy enough to come before the King. But God counts us worthy to be invited. Only those who are humble enough to accept salvation as a free gift can receive it with humility and faith.
But it does not mean that entry to the Messianic banquet does not require us to show respect for God. All are invited freely but grace must be received with graciousness. Whilst it is true that all were invited, everyone is supposed to put on the wedding garment as a mark of respect for the king. We who have been invited to the banquet unfortunately are not properly attired. Our disposition is not there. We attend the Eucharistic celebration without the baptismal garment. We wear stained garments because of our sins. Our heart is not with God in the celebration. We might be Catholics and baptized, but we have not put on the white baptismal garment to signify that we are properly attired for the celebration. By our negligence and our irresponsibility, we insult the name of God and cause His holiness to be compromised. This is the meaning of the next parable.
Having accepted the invite, we must not remain indifferent; we must prepare ourselves to attend the dinner. We must not be negligent, like the man who came without the wedding garment. He suffered serious penalties for his carelessness. So whilst God accepts all sinners, it does not mean that sinners should remain in their sins. By accepting the invitation, we must be ready to give up our old way of life and live the life of true sonship in Christ. This parable certainly is a reminder to us all who are now baptized in Christ, that unless we keep ourselves blameless in Christ, we will be thrown out of the heavenly banquet as our hearts are not ready to accept Christ. How many Catholics prepare themselves for mass, for reconciliation and for worship? We simply enter into the celebration without thinking or without being conscious of what we are doing.
But if we are sincere, the Lord will give us a new heart and a new spirit. The prophet Ezekiel said, “I shall pour clean water over you and you will be cleansed; I shall cleanse you of all your defilement and all your idols. I shall give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you; I shall remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh instead. I shall put my spirit in you, and make you keep my laws and sincerely respect my observances.” This is God’s invitation. We only have to respond and say ‘Yes’. He will renew our life, cleanse us and restore us to wholeness. Alas, the Lord also said, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” Will we want to be classified among the few chosen ones who have responded? The choice is ours, but it comes with responsibility.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved. The contents of this page may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission from the Archbishop’s Office. This includes extracts, quotations, and summaries.
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